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| Seinfeld "Puffy Shirt" |
We all know of it. Even if you weren't a regular fan of the show Seinfeld, there's a good chance you've heard of some of the show's most legendary episodes: The Contest, Man Hands, Real and Spectacular. It was one of the greatest sitcoms ever. One that took the most formulaic elements of the sitcom and turned them inside out in it's own Bizarro world sort of way. I mean who would have ever imagined so much hilarity could result from the Seinfeld gang focusing on one item - The Puffy Shirt. An episode so memorable, the actual shirt ended up in the Smithsonian Institute.
But I'm not here to do a break down play by play of what makes this episode comedy gold. I'm here to investigate. Heck, I may even be here to instigate. Because the story of how the Puffy Shirt got to be on Seinfeld and ultimately part of the collection at the Smithsonian Institute may be it's very own mystery.
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| Peter in puffy shirt in mid-1980s |
'You know the shirt I use to wear as a Prince impersonator? I sold that to a television writer on Seinfeld!' Of course I remembered that shirt. Back in the mid-80s my cousin Peter was a Prince impersonator and a damn good one. He got quite a bit of work impersonating the Purple One, and when he needed costumes replicating what Prince wore at the time with detail and accuracy, there was only one person he needed to go to - my Mom.
My Mom was (and is) an incredibly talented artist. At the age of 18 she was offered a scholarship to go to Paris to study clothing design at Christian Dior. She was forced to decline by her mother (actually the aunt that raised her) who said 'the only girls who go to Paris are prostitutes and whores.' Nice. My Mom had to settle for her other dream in life - to marry and to have a bunch of kids.
But the clothing design bug didn't leave her. Her kids always had the best Halloween costumes. When my sister got into gymnastics in the mid 70s-early 80s, my Mom along with one of the other mothers at the gym revolutionized leotard design. They custom made the outfits for my sister's gymnastics team that went beyond the single color and occasional stripe wear that had bored the sport of years. After that we saw an explosion of styles, colors and designs being adapted and incorporated by gymnasts around the world.
So in 1984, when Peter needed a Puffy Shirt that looked just like the one Prince wore in Purple Rain, he called my Mom. She got to work and in no time put together a shirt just like Prince's.
Of course a career impersonating Prince could only last so long. When it was time to hang up his lacy tights, I had no idea what Peter did with all those costumes he put together with help from Mom. That is until he told me his story of the ultimate fate of the Puffy Shirt.
Now according to Hollywood's history, the shirt was created by Seinfeld clothing designer Charmaine Simmons. From an article in the Washington Post (2004)
"The real-life designer of the Puffy Shirt, Charmaine Simmons, came to the Smithsonian last night and explained that when she was told by the show's producers to come up with a pirate look, she decided to create "the most uncomfortable, unwearable shirt you could find." She thought of a hideous shirt her mother gave her back in the 1970s. The Puffy Shirt, she decided, would have a high collar, to inhibit breathing. She added elastic bands to the sleeves to quadruple the puffing action. She gave the shirt a long front ruffle to make the wearer unable to dine without dipping the fabric in the plate of food."
Case closed? Maybe. Maybe not.
Yes, puffy pirate shirt designs date back centuries. It had a bit of resurgence among rock stars in the 1960s. See Jimi Hendrix. That the design could eventually work it's way to fashion lines for everyday people of that era is not unthinkable, Ms. Simmons.
The episode was written by show creator Larry David and I have yet to find any interview with the writer/actor/comedian (or any other writers from the show for that matter) going into detail of how the got the idea for the puffy shirt in the first place. But one thing they do claim is Charmaine Simmons created the shirt for the show. Unfortunately, my cousin can't remember the name of the writer he sold his shirt to. However, he does remember running in to him again after the episode aired and asking if that was his shirt. The answer? Indeed it was.
All I have is speculation. Knowing what I know about people who work in Television, they aren't necessarily the most honest people in the world. Getting credit for another persons work is not unheard of and probably happens more than you know. < --- End Personal Speculative Rant --- >
Okay, I also have photos. I've asked my Mom what she remembers about the shirt. She remembers Peter bringing her a woman's blouse and that she changed the buttons on it, added the elastic to sleeves to make them puff the way Prince's Purple Rain shirt did, added the three ruffles down the center as well as the ruffles on the end of the sleeves.
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| Purple Rain |
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| Impersonatin' |
Now according to Hollywood's history, the shirt was created by Seinfeld clothing designer Charmaine Simmons. From an article in the Washington Post (2004)
"The real-life designer of the Puffy Shirt, Charmaine Simmons, came to the Smithsonian last night and explained that when she was told by the show's producers to come up with a pirate look, she decided to create "the most uncomfortable, unwearable shirt you could find." She thought of a hideous shirt her mother gave her back in the 1970s. The Puffy Shirt, she decided, would have a high collar, to inhibit breathing. She added elastic bands to the sleeves to quadruple the puffing action. She gave the shirt a long front ruffle to make the wearer unable to dine without dipping the fabric in the plate of food."
Case closed? Maybe. Maybe not.
Yes, puffy pirate shirt designs date back centuries. It had a bit of resurgence among rock stars in the 1960s. See Jimi Hendrix. That the design could eventually work it's way to fashion lines for everyday people of that era is not unthinkable, Ms. Simmons.
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| Jimi Hendrix |
The episode was written by show creator Larry David and I have yet to find any interview with the writer/actor/comedian (or any other writers from the show for that matter) going into detail of how the got the idea for the puffy shirt in the first place. But one thing they do claim is Charmaine Simmons created the shirt for the show. Unfortunately, my cousin can't remember the name of the writer he sold his shirt to. However, he does remember running in to him again after the episode aired and asking if that was his shirt. The answer? Indeed it was.
All I have is speculation. Knowing what I know about people who work in Television, they aren't necessarily the most honest people in the world. Getting credit for another persons work is not unheard of and probably happens more than you know. < --- End Personal Speculative Rant --- >
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| exhibit A | exhibit B |
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| Seinfeld shirt on display at the Smithsonian |
I don't know if it's awesome to think that my Mom may have a shirt in the Smithsonian or sad that she'll probably never get credit for it. Truly there is only one winner here:
"Game: Blouses."
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